RUSSIA TO STEP UP PLANNING FOR MANNED LUNAR AND MARS MISSIONS
In the wake of the Wall Street derivatives meltdown that has financially imperiled the country and our space program, Russia has made its intentions to send manned missions to the Moon and Mars clear, according to the following article on Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency's website:
Russia Speeds Up Moon, Mars Plans as U.S. May Cut Spending
Russia, at least, is getting it right: space represents a commercial opportunity, one that the Russians intend to exploit. Their program is clearly outlined in the article: (1) manned missions to the moon, (2) A permanent base and human presence on the moon by 2030, and (3) a manned mission to Mars by 2040, doubtless in connection with a manned base on the Moon.
But note the interesting statement toward the end of the article by the spokesman for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin:
“We are increasing the space budget as the time has come for a technological breakthrough,” Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, said by phone. “We need to replace outdated infrastructure and continue to support the flagship status of the space industry.”
Clearly, the Russians are also implying that for these missions to be genuinely feasible, new technologies need to be brought on line and the whole space industry transformed. It is also interesting to note that no specific mention is made concerning what constitutes these new technologies. A hint, perhaps, is afforded by this article, which also appears on the Roscosmos site:
European Space Agency may use Russian technology in Nuke-Spaceship Project
According to this article, the Russian design for a nuclear powered spacecraft should be completed some time next year, but one suspects that this is the tip of the iceberg for Russia. The most important thing here, in my opinion, is Russia's intention, clearly enunciated in the first article, to commercialize space exploration, and specifically in the context of manned moon and Mars missions. This is a far cry from the Russia of the Soviet era, and for that matter, a far cry from the current short-sightedness being exhibited in the United States regarding the long-term benefits that accrue economically and technologically from vigorous space programs, including manned space exploration.
We need, in my opinion, to take a page from Russia's book, and realize that we are quickly outgrowing our beautiful planet, and that the riches of space are there to explore, and to utilize, for mankind's benefit. Tomorrow, China...see you on the flip side!
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As I write this I see your article came out on the sixty six anniversary of the Nagasaki atomic bomb drop well you heard of the military lost of their HVT-2 hypersonic spaceplane following on their successful X-38 space shuttle test it seems that the USA only thought is warfare at the expense of everything else. Money for so called defense and nothing else but that the fact it began as a slave society it doesn’t what it’s slaves to commit drapomania that why it’s throtling it’s man and unman space program. By the way the JWST is on the Congressional ax as well Both Russia and China look like they have a well thoughtout space program I wish them well though I fear the right wing is planning a nuclear war to stop anyone from leaving this planet soon because other than stupidity why are they recking the USA economy.
Huge mistake if US does indeed pull out of space race to the moon and beyond. Do you think the Russians are going to share what they find? I doubt it! And with our present administration taking us down the prim rose trail of total economic destruction there seems to be no way we can support this. But on the other hand where is the greatest economic growth? You guessed it Space! So while our knuckleheads in Washington try to get there arms around Obamacare and Obama economy we are slowly flushing ourselves down the toilet! Some one get me some toilet paper!
When ROSCOSMOS talks of tourism, I think of Dennis Tito.
LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Tito
Using Tito as a benchmark, a week in space is worth $20,000,000. Surely SOMEbody could build one of those “space wheel” hotels/resort centers in space and make it a booming business.
Well maybe they already have cuz it seems unconscionable to me that over forty-one years after I watched man land on the moon live on TV that this has NOT occurred yet.
I remember rooting for the (present) space station for years as the white elephant up now there slooooooowwwwwwwlllllllllllyyyyyyy NEVER got finished and I became fed up and disgusted, lost interest, and learned of Tesla, Richard Hoagland, Judy Wood, Tom Bearden and others and I realized that rocketry has been superseded by something far more powerful and efficient and it is being kept secret.
Sorry…NO I am NOT “sorry”…but I can’t, can NOT, get excited or fired up about some national space agency talking about going to the Moon, Mars, or wherever or what they intend to do when they get there, a quarter of a century from now, while I know that Dr. Who’s space box is up and running and probably doing so in several different make and model numbers.
It’s all just a distraction to me like I am supposed to pretend to go along with it (wink wink, nod nod) and pretend the Jupiter 2 still runs on gasoline.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&biw=1090&bih=863&q=jupiter+2&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=1934l4978l0l5233l9l9l0l4l4l0l285l913l0.3.2l5l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi
and after you click my link you can come back here and click Josephs links and they will then show up in english.
On the top left is a language link. thus here is english:
http://www.federalspace.ru/main.php?lang=en
That Russian website is–surprisingly enough–in Russian. Got a link to a translation for those of us who don’t read Russian? In fact both websites linked are in Russian.